Have you got the January Blues?
It’s that time of year again…Christmas is long gone but the dark nights and mornings are still lingering and the unpredictable weather makes you want to hide under your duvet! If you have a stressful job, on top of all that, this time of year can be hell for a lot of people.
This is difficult too, when you’re used to controlling everything. You can’t control the weather and you can’t control what time the sun rises and sets so the only thing we can do is accept it.
Accept that it is a part of the cycles of nature and try to find some things to appreciate about this time of year. Here are some things to get you started…
Watch the sunrise
In Summer most of us aren’t out of our beds early enough to catch the sunrise, but when the sun is rising later, we get the chance to see this beauty of nature. I walked my dog to the local park at 7.30am the other morning and it was beautiful. On one side of the sky there was the full moon from the night before, and on the other side of the sky was a beautiful sunrise overlooking the duck pond. Everywhere was quiet and it was lovely. So, why not do the same? Go for an early morning walk and watch the sun rise. It’ll put you in a great mood for the rest of the day!
Get cosy
The Danes have it all worked out with their hygge, so why not make the most of the coldest time of year to get your candles on, grab a warm blanket and a nice warm drink and relax. It’s great to snuggle up and watch a movie with your other half or maybe do some journaling or read a great book or magazine. Grab your cat or dog for an extra boost and appreciate this time for yourself. When the weather gets warmer, you won’t get to do this for a while, so do it while you can!
Run a bath
I love a nice bubble bath with candles and a glass of wine. I play my favourite spotify playlist and enjoy the time for some self-care. I give myself a nice facial with exfoliator, a face mask and a rose quartz face roller and I love to put on a banana hair mask. I feel so refreshed when I get out that I like to make this a weekly treat during the cold winter months. So, if you’ve never tried a bath, now’s the best time.
Set intentions
There’s something about January that gets us all thinking about our lives. Maybe we regret some of the decisions we made, or didn’t make, during the previous year and we can sometimes beat ourselves up about stuff that really doesn’t matter and make ourselves feel depressed. If you really hate some aspects of your life, January is a great time to bring it all into the open and set some intentions to help you make a much needed change. As I’ve said in some of my other posts, I don’t believe that goals and new year’s resolutions are the best way to do this. I believe that setting goals and targets can take the fun out of making positive changes and can be another overwhelming item on our to-do lists. Instead, set an intention. You just decide that you’re going to do something until you feel the certainty and then you let it go. Once you’ve done this you will go about your day as normal but you might feel urges to do certain things and so you should do them. This is how the Universe works and so it is better to work with it, rather than against it! So, what is it you want to change this year? Remember, you don’t need to worry about how you will do it when replace goals with intentions.
Arrange play-dates
Just because Christmas is over doesn’t mean that life has to be glum! We all need things to look forward to so make sure you plan some fun activities this month. Why not arrange a girls’ night-in if you’ve overspent this Christmas? If you love movies, why not go to see a film or travel somewhere new. The main thing is to do something that breaks the monotony of the routine of going to work and coming home. Even starting a new hobby or enrolling on a new course can be just the thing you need to get rid of the January blues.
So, I hope this list has given some ideas of how to cheer yourself up this January. I’d love to hear any other ideas you have, just drop them in the comments below.